[Pumpkin]

Hi,

I have a 2008 auto CRDi 1.6L which has done about 41,000 kms.

I had some problems with the car where it felt like it was constantly surging forward whilst at idle & in drive.  The car felt like it was constantly trying to select a gear but couldn't. 

I had an NRMA man inspect it & he confirmed it was a gearbox problem.  The vehicle was then towed to Parramatta Hyundai for them to inspect.

A week has now passed & I have no idea what it happening with my car.  The service advisor (Trent) is useless & never returns calls & is always either too busy or on the phone.  At least however he has confirmed it would be covered under warranty.

I am now at wits end & want to know if anyone has had similar problems with a dealer & if so what they did to get a speedy resolution.  My wife is currently almost 8 months pregnant & we need the car urgently in case the baby comes early.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[Dazzler]

Hi Pumpkin.. not good  I was going to suggest you contact Hyundai Australia by email but then reading on you need something done quickly...

I would ring and ask for the dealer principal and explain your full situation. If they won't let you talk to him by phone try and get down there somehow and demand to see him in person.

In view of the fault with your car they should have offered you a loan vehicle (and a good one at that)

I am off to work shortly but if I or any other member can help stir up the pudding let us know 

[Ugly Mongrel]

Hi Pumpkin, Sad news but we need to get you back on the road asap. Like Dazzler said, get onto Hyundai Australia. See if they are prepared to give the dealer a hurry up. I'd also call the dealership and insist on speaking to the dealer principal. Don't let them fob you off. Ask him to give you a specific time line for your repair and a replacement car while yours is repaired.

If you are a member of the NRMA, I would call them and seek their advice as well, as I'm sure they would have dealt with this problem for members in the past. I'd also contact a media outlet and give them your story. That will rattle the blighters.

Good luck and keep the forum posted. Also best wishes for the upcoming addition to the family. I hope your wife doesn't stress too much with your predicament.

[beerman]

I personally would be attending in person (you are harder to fob off that way). I would be in possession of a recording device (things are much more difficult to deny when there is a recording of what was said, but check on the laws re recording in your state, some states require you to declair this up front, others, Qld for example it is lawful to tape a conversation to which you are a party).

I would require a progress report about exactly what has occurred in the last week to progress your repair.

I would request an explanation as to why a loan vehicle was not initally provided given the obvious protracted nature of the repairs (auto gearboxes are not held as a spare at the dealer and I expect take some time to source, this has been obvious to them for some time, and they should have taken steps at the point they realised this to ensure a replacement vehicle). Once they have struggled through this, I would demand a loan vehicle. If they refuse, I would warn them that it was my intention to hire a vehicle and claim this expense from them (usually makes them more determined to help). If they continue to argue mention small claims court. At this point it is time to discuss what the dealer will do to compensate you for their lack of provision of a vehicle from the start (discounted or free services are a start you are due the 45k service soon, how about a free service and gearbox check?)

At this point you should have a loan vehicle, so thing's arn't so pressing,  but while your at it, I would be demanding a timeline of events leading to the repair (ie gearbox due on this date, etc).

Finally, for some more fun, I would be requesting the email addresses and phone numbers for the Dealer Principal and the service manager at Hyundai Australia.

Hopefully at this point you are leaving very happy.

This is when you go home, and do a transcript of what was said and agreed to. Send it to the person you spoke to, the DP and the service manager from Hyundai Australia.

If you don't have success, demand to speak to the Dealer Principal and start all over again. If you fail there ask for the Hyundai Australia contact number. Again take the transcript of the conversation (ie the dealer being difficult) do up a transcript (things look better when you can read them) and include a copy of the recording in the email. Demand the vehicle be moved at Hyundai's expense to a new dealer (regardless of how far away) as you have lost confidence in the dealer you have been dealing with and the loan vehicle to be delivered to you. At some point in the email make reference to 1) small claims court and 2) the media (they love ready made stories.....and again the recording is your trump card).

This should keep them on their toes.

[Pumpkin]

Hello again & many thanks to those who replied.  All great advice & much appreciated! 

I got my wife to phone & speak to the service manager at Parramatta Hyundai.  He said they were awaiting shipment of the parts from Korea & did not have an expected delivery date. 

I was very unimpressed with this information but decided to leave until I got home & was going to contact Hyundai Australia & make a complaint.  Just I was about to do so, I received a call from the infamous 'Trent' who advised me that the parts will be there tomorrow morning & they should have the car ready for me tomorrow afternoon. 

I personally think pigs will fly before the car is ready in a day but only time will tell. 

What would everyone's advice be on whether or not to sell the car?  I must admit I am very concerned that this has happened on a 2 1/2 year old car & am worried it will happen again in the future especially considering they are using the same gearbox albeit a new one. 

I still don't know what the actual problem was, as he said ''that doesn't concern you" to which I replied "Ah yes it does, it's my car''.  He wouldn't tell me so if & when the car is ready I will ask the service manager face to face & let you all know.

As for Parramatta Hyundai service department, I would not recommend them to anyone.  They are hopeless with customer service & very rude & extremely arrogant.  I have lost all confidence in Hyundai as a motor company as a result which is sad because the i30 is a great little car, just seems to be poorly made.

[beerman]

With all due respect, I think you should take a read through the other vehicles forums before you get to upset with the poor little I30 (for example the wife has a BA Falcon and I can list at least 3 reoccuring faults that have happened to multiple vehicles).

Yours is the first Auto that I have seen with a problem, therefore I would tend to believe that it is a one off. Even Mercs and BMW's have their faults....You were unlucky, thats a shame, but I wouldn't smash the car for that.

I again respectfully suggest that your '08 i30 would be one of the lower k ones out there. Heaps of them all over the world have been in serivce, doing many more k's than you. I suggest if there was an endemic auto failure, we would be hearing about it all over the net (again as a guide google BA falcon auto failure, or Ford Territory ball joints)

The other upside, is that you still have 3 years of warranty left. So even if there is a defect in the auto (and God help me if there is) you can drive with immunity for another 2.5 years, then if there are still problems, ditch it for something else.

Give the dealer the flick by all means (though I think you will struggle to find a dealer anywhere who likes doing warranty work, and thats across all brands, the vehicles makers demand value for money, and this eats into the fat profits that can be made changing oil) I think this comes from the fact that we are more keen on price therefore less likley to be loyal ourselves. But I think you'll find you are a very unlucky owner, and the fault is not common.

P.s the use of Ford in this comment is because of my knowledge of the brand, rather than an attempt to sledge any particular non Hyundai brand, I could also tell you about the Toyota Aurion automatic that blew up, and I mean blew up, on a work car (and the two weeks it took to get it fixed).

I find the policy of Hyundai dealers of not outlining what they do under warranty frustrating.

I have had some problems with headlight failures and my dealer (Barry Smith Hyundai, Pennant Hills) won't tell me in writing what has been done on the multiple trips I have made there.

Makes it hard not to go round in circles when the problem isn't fixed. 

[alan2938]

Pumpkin,

Sorry to hear about you plight.

When the gearbox is fixed, is it possible to let us know, why the gearbox failed,

or what part failed etc.?

[Dazzler]

Hi again pumpkin..  (Calling you that sounds a bit suss .. sorry  )

Like  Beerman says.. there is nothing wrong with the way i30's are built .. the overall satifaction rating of members on this site is amazing compared to most other car forums.. 

You would be extremely unlucky to have another gearbox problem with your car I would suspect and as beerman says you have the remaining warranty to fall back on..

[Gibber]

I got my dealer to send me in the post all warranty work they had done. He had blanked out the costs but I could read it held up to the light...

Sent from my HTC Desire

[asathorny]

Sorry you're being messed around Pumpkin.  Has other have said this fault doesn't seem to be a regular occurrence, I know that's no consolation to you, I do hope they have you back in the saddle soon.

Good Luck
Asa

[eye30]

Here in Uk if my car is to be off the road for say more than a few days I'm sure I would have been provided with a loan car FOC as part of the warranty conditions.

Poor show by the garage.....

[asathorny]

Here in Uk if my car is to be off the road for say more than a few days I'm sure I would have been provided with a loan car FOC as part of the warranty conditions.

Poor show by the garage.....

Now you mention it eye30, when mine went in for the flat battery thing, they left me a loaner without me even asking not expecting one.   So, yes you're quite right.

[Pumpkin]

Hi everyone,

Well it doesn't look like I'll get to see pigs fly.  They phoned me yesterday afternoon to say the car was ready to be picked up.  So we obviously went & picked up the car & so far (touches wood) there have been no problems, no weird noises & the car actually goes into reverse within 15 seconds! 

The problem was apparently the planetary assembly within the gearbox basically shat itself & parts broke off inside the gearbox so pieces of metal were flying around inside. I tried to attach a copy of the invoice showing the parts used but the file is too large.  So I will list them instead:

Seal kit - ata - overhaul
Filter assy - valve body oi
Disc set - clutch
Disc set - brake
Body assy - ata valve
Carrier assy - planet
Auto mission oil

I must say it is nice to have the little beast back again.     I forgot for a while just what an attractive little car they really are & how nice they are to drive when everything is working the way it should be!

So thanks again for all the replies & helpful advice.

[Dazzler]

Thanks for the feedback Pumpkin..

Now remember, in the unlikely even that you have another major issue under warranty insist on a loan car straight up....

[asathorny]

This is great news Pumkin...  I am so pleased for you....

Asa

[Ugly Mongrel]

Glad to hear of the successful outcome, Pumpkin. It's also nice to read your comments about how much you missed your little beast while it was off the road. I'm sure if my i30 was in "hospital" for more than a day, I'd have to take a blanket and pillow and go to the dealership and sleep in it over night 

[TrishCW]

Thats great news Pumkin pleased it all turned out well for you.

[Lakes]

Good to hear turned out ok, not many other makes i know would warrant an Auto trans thats three years old. well done Hyundai!